‘Pesarane Karim restaurant’ is a very famous name that (if you’re a foodie) can make you hungry just by hearing it. The history behind this restaurant begins in 1921 with Karim Qasemzadeh Hatami, also known as Karim Shishliki. He became successful and helped the Mashhad food and restaurant industry a lot through the influence that came with his success. In 1980 his sons decided to grow the business and focus on their signature dish ‘Chelo Mahicheh’, that carries their name ever since. It’s a very famous recipe that’s not only served in their own chain restaurants but also elsewhere and in many households in Iran.
The Pesarane Karim Lamb Shanks recipe is actually very easy to prepare. And the taste! Don’t get me started on the taste of this fall-off-the-bone-tender, mouthwatering shanks! You can serve them with Chelo, which is a simple Persian Saffron Rice or with Baghali Polo, Nokhod Polo, etc. Whichever way you decide on serving them, I guarantee you won’t regret it.
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Time
Prep: 5 min
Cook: 2 h 25 min
Total: 2 h 30 min
Ingredients (serving 2)
2 lamb shanks (approx. 1.9lbs / 850g)
2 onions
1 bulb + 5 cloves garlic
1 small carrot
6 tbsp vegetable oil
1 Cinnamon stick
1 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp saffron
3 ice cubes to bloom the saffron
Salt to taste
Method for cooking Lamb Shanks
Prep the ingredients
Grind the saffron threads using a pestle and mortar. Transfer the ice cubes to a glass. Sprinkle the ground saffron over them and set it aside for later.
Keep the garlic bulb whole for cooking later. For the best flavour, I recommend using organic young garlic if you can. Peel the onion, cut it in half and slice it. Peel the 5 extra cloves of garlic and slice them as well.
Sauté and combine the ingredients
Heat 4 tbsp vegetable oil in a frying pan and sauté the lamb shanks for about 10 minutes until golden brown from all sides.
Remove the meat from the pan and gently sauté the onions in the same oil. After 10 minutes add the garlic and sauté both together for another 5 min. Add the cinnamon stick and season with turmeric, black pepper and salt. Combine everything well. Transfer the lamb shanks, carrot (keep it whole) and garlic bulb to the pan. Add 2 cups / 470ml of freshly boiled water. Put on the lid and let it simmer over low heat for 1 hour.
Remove the carrot, and turn the shanks so all sides get the same flavour. Add the saffron water. Put the lid back on and let it cook for another 45 min to 1 hour. Turn the lamb shanks occasionally.
Use a fork to see if the lamb shanks are cooked. They should easily fall off the bone. Taste your stew. Adjust the salt to your taste. Serve your lamb shanks.
Serve your delicious Lamb Shanks
Serve your Mahicheh with plain Persian-style Abkesh rice or Baghali Polo or Nokhod Polo. Enjoy!
Cooking for a crowd: the oven method (6 to 10 lamb shanks)
This is my go-to for Nowruz, Christmas, Yalda and big family dinners. A pan on the hob only fits 2 to 4 shanks, so for a crowd I cook them in the oven. Same flavours, almost no work once they're in, and the oven cooks every shank evenly.
Ingredients for 10 lamb shanks (serves 10)
10 lamb shanks (about 4 to 4.5kg / 9 to 10lbs)
6 onions, halved and sliced
4 whole bulbs of garlic, plus 15 extra cloves, peeled and sliced
3 small carrots, whole
8 tbsp vegetable oil
3 cinnamon sticks
1 tbsp turmeric
1 1/2 tsp black pepper
1 1/2 tsp ground saffron, bloomed on 8 ice cubes
About 1.2 litres / 5 cups freshly boiled water
Salt: start with 1 tbsp and adjust at the end
Cooking 6 shanks? Use 4 onions, 3 garlic bulbs plus 10 cloves, 2 carrots, 5 tbsp oil, 2 cinnamon sticks, 2 tsp turmeric, 1 tsp black pepper, 1 tsp saffron on 5 ice cubes and about 800ml / 3 1/2 cups water.
You'll need: one very large, deep roasting tin (about 40 x 30cm and at least 7cm deep), or two smaller tins, and heavy-duty foil. A big cast-iron casserole that fits in your oven works too.
Method
1. Bloom the saffron. Sprinkle the ground saffron over the ice cubes and leave it to melt while you prepare everything else.
2. Preheat the oven to 160°C fan / 180°C conventional / 350°F / Gas 4.
3. Brown the shanks in batches. Heat a few tablespoons of oil in your largest frying pan and brown 3 or 4 shanks at a time, about 8 to 10 minutes per batch, until golden on all sides. Don't crowd the pan: too many at once and they steam instead of browning. Move each batch into the roasting tin.
No time to brown on the hob? Rub the shanks with the oil, turmeric, black pepper and salt, lay them in the tin uncovered and roast at 220°C fan / 240°C / 475°F / Gas 9 for 25 minutes, turning once, until golden. Then turn the oven down to 160°C fan and carry on from step 4.
4. Make the onion base. In the same frying pan, gently fry the onions in the leftover oil for about 15 minutes until soft and golden. Add the sliced garlic for the last 5 minutes. Stir in the turmeric, black pepper and salt.
5. Build the tin. Spread the onions around and between the shanks (not just on top), then tuck in the whole garlic bulbs, carrots and cinnamon sticks. Lay the shanks in a single layer, side by side. If they don't fit in one layer, use two tins.
6. Add the water. Pour the boiled water into the corner of the tin, not over the shanks. It should come about a third of the way up the meat. That's enough: the shanks release their own juices, and too much water gives you a thin sauce.
7. Seal it tightly. Cover with two layers of foil and crimp it hard around the edges so no steam escapes. This is the most important step: the shanks braise in their own steam.
8. Cook for 1 1/2 hours. Then take the tin out, carefully peel back the foil, take out the carrots, turn every shank over and pour the saffron water over them. Reseal the foil.
9. Cook for another 1 to 1 1/2 hours, until the meat falls off the bone when you push it with a fork. Using two tins? Swap them between the shelves when you add the saffron, so they cook evenly.
10. Glaze. Remove the foil, turn the oven up to 200°C fan / 220°C / 425°F / Gas 7 and give the shanks 15 to 20 minutes uncovered, spooning the juices over them once or twice, until the tops are glossy and golden.
11. Finish the sauce. Taste the juices and adjust the salt. If the sauce is thin, pour it into a pan and boil it for 5 to 10 minutes to thicken, then pour it back over the shanks. Squeeze the soft roasted garlic out of its skin and stir it in: it's delicious.
Hami's tips for festival cooking
Make it a day ahead. Honestly, the shanks taste even better the next day. Cook them, cool them in their juices and refrigerate overnight. Lift off the fat that sets on top, then reheat covered at 160°C fan for 45 minutes to 1 hour, and do the 15-minute glaze just before serving.
Timing for a party: about 30 minutes of prep, then 3 to 3 1/2 hours in the oven. Put them in 4 hours before you want to eat and you're free for everything else.
Bigger or smaller shanks cook in roughly the same time. Always go by the fork test, not the clock.
Serve them on a big platter on top of saffron rice or Baghali Polo, with the juices spooned over, fresh herbs and Salad Shirazi on the side.
I hope you enjoyed this recipe. I’d love to see your Lamb Shanks! Feel free to tag me with @igotitfrommymaman on Facebook or Insta so I can take a look and give you a thumbs up!
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